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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Transjordan 2: Burninating the countryside

Israel isn't the only biblical country. Jordan includes the territory of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, as well as other nations such as Edom, Moab, and Ammon (now generally spelled Amman).

We visited Madaba, known from the inscrutable Numbers 21 as one of the cities of Sihon Melech Ha-Emori.

But yes, it's all about the map. This map of the Holy Land dates back to the 6th century CE, and sadly much of it is missing (including most of Israel north of Jerusalem; we know from one intact fragment that the map once went all the way up to Lebanon). The map may have been a guide for visiting pilgrims.

Here is Jerusalem:

The map is oriented with east at the top, so you're looking at the Old City from the west. Jaffa Gate is at the bottom, Damascus Gate is at the left, and the horizontal thoroughfare is the Cardo, which was rediscovered with the aid of this map.

The Dead Sea:

Ashdod:

Bethlehem: (The Church of the Nativity is there, but Bethlehem otherwise gets relatively short shrift given its importance in Christianity. Does this mean the mosaicist was Jewish??? Unfortunately we have no idea how the mosaic dealt with other Christian sites such as Nazareth.)